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Mystery spill kills birds
Marine Pollution Bulletin
NCC maps were on a large enough scale to be useful in many local situations, the argument against wide publication was that action might be based on them. The idea was that users of the maps would not understand the subtleties of them. And rather like the American situation, it rapidly became clear that no part of the coast was dispensible.
This is a pretty dilemma. Go to the trouble and expense of preparing the maps but then not show them to anyone for fear of them being misunderstood? Or, publish them and run the risk of providing ammunition for lobbies which can be guaranteed to oppose any development anywhere, but still expect to be provided with fuel? R. B. C L A R K
Dioxin Find in Holland
laws, after being originally granted refuge there to conduct a damage survey on its fractured hull. Although the vessel's master is reported to have warned that the ship was not seaworthy, Bermudan tugs began to tow it out to sea, when it sank and caused a 1.5-km long slick. The incident will probably spark off a challenge to the UK Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971, which gave authorities the right to order the ship away, and possible litigation over liability for the ship's sinking. Pollution concerns were largely over the ammonium phosphate, according to reports, but the Act was used to ban the ship on the grounds of the danger of oil pollution.
Dutch authorities are growing more and more concerned about dumping of chemical wastes, following the discovery that barrels of waste containing the chemical dioxin dumped at Veluwe, Holland, in 1963, have re-emerged. Dioxin proved its dangerous potential in the Seveso industrial disaster of 1976, and Veluwe is a sandy dune region supplying 65 % of the drinking water to the towns of Utrecht and Arnhem. The chemical was discovered during investigations by the Minister of Public Health and Environment, Dr Ginjaar, early this year, promoted by the Lekkerkerk issue of 1979 where 3 5 0 4 0 0 of the country's 4000 dumping sites are in urgent need of cleaning. Action is also underway to pass an 'emergency law' relating to what has been termed the 'environmental calamity' of waste dumping, as the new Dutch Soil Protection Law does not come into effect until 1982. The European Commission is to submit a report this year on the provisions among member countries for the disposal of wastes.
New IMCO Code A stringent new safety code for oil terminal operators has been recommended by IMCO. Concern has arisen among environmentalists that pollution from terminal activities is just as damaging as disasters at sea, and careless shore operation in such manoeuvres as crude oil washing can cause accidents. The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has provided a checklist for terminals to make operators more aware of hazards and precautions to be taken. The suggestions- such as fuller discussion between ship and shore before arrival and increased tanker turnround t i m e s - would greatly reduce the potential for pollution, according to OCIMF.
Sinking Ship Towed out to Sea A Panamanian ship spilled an undetermined amount of oil when it sank off Bermuda while leaving the island's territorial waters. The 12,613-DWT Eastern MarinerI, owned by Gulfeast Ship Management Ltd. of Hong Kong, was carrying ammonium phosphate to Bangladesh but also had more than 200 000 gallons of bunker fuel aboard. It had been ordered to leave the waters under British pollution prevention 142
Mystery Spill Kills Birds A 4-km long mystery oil slick has caused more than 600 oiled birds to be washed ashore along the South Carolina coast, in the Myrtle beach area. The Grand Strand Humane Society said that the b i r d s - common and red-throated loons-congregated in this offshore area and this caused the large toll. US Coast Guard have been conducting an investigation into the source of the spill, which may have been caused by a passing tanker pumping out its bilges. The Humane Society set up a treatment centre in Myrtle Beach, followed by other environmentalist groups, and about 50% of the birds were released after treatment.
Support for Med Clear-up Four important states have given their backing to the fight against oil pollution from ships in the Mediterranean. The Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) announced that Libya, Malta, Tunisia and Yugoslavia are to take part in a two-year project to plan facilities for the treatment of waste oils and ballast water from tankers and other ships. The four countries are among eleven whose reception facilities need vast investment, according to an IMCO study, which said that at least $145 million would be needed to bring them up to required standards. The Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable to pollution because it is almost totally enclosed by land and interchange of water with the ocean takes a long time. A number of important tanker routes cross the Mediterranean and many are on short voyages which rule out the use of the load-on-top system.
NCC maps were on a large enough scale to be useful in many local situations, the argument against wide publication was that action might be based on them. The idea was that users of the maps would not understand the subtleties of them. And rather like the American situation, it rapidly became clear that no part of the coast was dispensible.
This is a pretty dilemma. Go to the trouble and expense of preparing the maps but then not show them to anyone for fear of them being misunderstood? Or, publish them and run the risk of providing ammunition for lobbies which can be guaranteed to oppose any development anywhere, but still expect to be provided with fuel? R. B. C L A R K
Dioxin Find in Holland
laws, after being originally granted refuge there to conduct a damage survey on its fractured hull. Although the vessel's master is reported to have warned that the ship was not seaworthy, Bermudan tugs began to tow it out to sea, when it sank and caused a 1.5-km long slick. The incident will probably spark off a challenge to the UK Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971, which gave authorities the right to order the ship away, and possible litigation over liability for the ship's sinking. Pollution concerns were largely over the ammonium phosphate, according to reports, but the Act was used to ban the ship on the grounds of the danger of oil pollution.
Dutch authorities are growing more and more concerned about dumping of chemical wastes, following the discovery that barrels of waste containing the chemical dioxin dumped at Veluwe, Holland, in 1963, have re-emerged. Dioxin proved its dangerous potential in the Seveso industrial disaster of 1976, and Veluwe is a sandy dune region supplying 65 % of the drinking water to the towns of Utrecht and Arnhem. The chemical was discovered during investigations by the Minister of Public Health and Environment, Dr Ginjaar, early this year, promoted by the Lekkerkerk issue of 1979 where 3 5 0 4 0 0 of the country's 4000 dumping sites are in urgent need of cleaning. Action is also underway to pass an 'emergency law' relating to what has been termed the 'environmental calamity' of waste dumping, as the new Dutch Soil Protection Law does not come into effect until 1982. The European Commission is to submit a report this year on the provisions among member countries for the disposal of wastes.
New IMCO Code A stringent new safety code for oil terminal operators has been recommended by IMCO. Concern has arisen among environmentalists that pollution from terminal activities is just as damaging as disasters at sea, and careless shore operation in such manoeuvres as crude oil washing can cause accidents. The Oil Companies International Marine Forum (OCIMF) has provided a checklist for terminals to make operators more aware of hazards and precautions to be taken. The suggestions- such as fuller discussion between ship and shore before arrival and increased tanker turnround t i m e s - would greatly reduce the potential for pollution, according to OCIMF.
Sinking Ship Towed out to Sea A Panamanian ship spilled an undetermined amount of oil when it sank off Bermuda while leaving the island's territorial waters. The 12,613-DWT Eastern MarinerI, owned by Gulfeast Ship Management Ltd. of Hong Kong, was carrying ammonium phosphate to Bangladesh but also had more than 200 000 gallons of bunker fuel aboard. It had been ordered to leave the waters under British pollution prevention 142
Mystery Spill Kills Birds A 4-km long mystery oil slick has caused more than 600 oiled birds to be washed ashore along the South Carolina coast, in the Myrtle beach area. The Grand Strand Humane Society said that the b i r d s - common and red-throated loons-congregated in this offshore area and this caused the large toll. US Coast Guard have been conducting an investigation into the source of the spill, which may have been caused by a passing tanker pumping out its bilges. The Humane Society set up a treatment centre in Myrtle Beach, followed by other environmentalist groups, and about 50% of the birds were released after treatment.
Support for Med Clear-up Four important states have given their backing to the fight against oil pollution from ships in the Mediterranean. The Inter-Governmental Maritime Consultative Organization (IMCO) announced that Libya, Malta, Tunisia and Yugoslavia are to take part in a two-year project to plan facilities for the treatment of waste oils and ballast water from tankers and other ships. The four countries are among eleven whose reception facilities need vast investment, according to an IMCO study, which said that at least $145 million would be needed to bring them up to required standards. The Mediterranean is particularly vulnerable to pollution because it is almost totally enclosed by land and interchange of water with the ocean takes a long time. A number of important tanker routes cross the Mediterranean and many are on short voyages which rule out the use of the load-on-top system.